Col. A. vividly recalls the first cartoon he drew at the start of the IDF’s ground operation in Gaza — his brigade commander as a lion, standing on the ruins of a destroyed building in the north of the enclave.
"I left the brigade commander a keepsake so he'd know I was there," he says. Pleased, the commander asked him to draw a daily cartoon, which became a tradition. Some of his cartoons depicted combat, while others provided updates on events in Israel and abroad.
"We were completely cut off from phones and radio," he explains. "People looked forward to it every day, asked when I'd draw and even suggested ideas."
After three rounds of fighting in the south and north, A. completed his service with the brigade and took command of the 185th “Galil-Golan” Brigade. "Our motto, 'Anytime, anywhere, for any mission,' isn't just words," he says. "Reservists call each other 'brother' because they don’t always remember names — but they'd die for one another. We're all in this together."
A., a lawyer with a background in high-tech, lives in Mitzpe Ilan with his wife and five children. He describes his drawing skills as "just a hobby." His collection of cartoons became a wartime journal offering a unique perspective.
His most memorable drawings include: a commander always seen with a book, even before battle; a battalion commander lifting a stuck vehicle with one hand; humanitarian aid drifting in the wind toward the brigade’s combat zone; soldiers making do with canned food in what they dubbed "Jabaliya Restaurant" and fitness training where troops replaced weights with water bottles.
The brigade lost 21 soldiers during the war in Gaza. A. honored them through his cartoons. One, dedicated to Capt. (res.) Yuval Halivni, Master Sgt. (res.) Avihay Amsalem and Maj. (res.) Eitan Menachem Neeman — killed in the October 9 battle for Sderot — depicts the three arches at the Shaar HaNegev junction, now wrapped in yellow ribbons for the hostage-release campaign. "They connected in my mind with commemorating the three fallen soldiers," he says.
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Another cartoon commemorates Sgt. Maj. (res.) David Schwartz from Alon Shvut and Sgt. 1st Class (res.) Yakir Hexter from Jerusalem, who studied together at the Har Etzion Yeshiva. "At the funeral in Gush Etzion, I was shown a photo of them studying together," A. recalls. "I depicted them in uniform with their gear, symbolizing both their bond as students and their fate as soldiers."
One illustration shows Master Sgt. (res.) Gal Meir Eisenkot and Master Sgt. (res.) Eyal Meir Berkowitz holding the biblical Tablets of the Law. "It represents the victory achieved in battle thanks to them," says A.
Another, depicting angel wings, portrays a mass-casualty incident where he oversaw the evacuation of 13 wounded soldiers in a dense urban area. "The relief I felt when the rescue jeep arrived is indescribable," he says.
One of his most significant drawings is inspired by The Last Supper, painted on the ruins of a destroyed building where troops had gathered before leaving Gaza. "On the table, instead of food, there are explosives, mines and bombs," he says. "It captures the final moments of the combat engineers’ mission, with a nod to Leonardo da Vinci’s painting."